With the League title gone, weary United were dealt another
blow twenty-four hours after their European Cup Semi-Final home failure against
Celtic. Right Back Paul Reaney had sustained a
fractured leg in a meaningless 2-2 draw at West Ham United. The injury cost him
a place in Unitedís FA Cup Final line-up against Chelsea
and a trip to Mexico
as part of Englandís
World Cup squad. Manager Don Revie sent out a patched
up side on the Saturday before the FA Cup Final, lacking Reaney,
Gary Sprake (bruised shoulder), Mick Jones (leg
strain), Terry Cooper and Jack Charlton (shin injuries) and Norman Hunter (knee
injury).

The game against the Clarets was Unitedís
ninth in eighteen days, so with the Cup Final coming up, a shadow side on view,
the extra cost of watching a game with nothing at stake and the Grand National
on television, only 24,691 fans turned up†
at Elland Road, about 12,000 less than
average. The stay-away fans not only missed a chance to see some of the
blossoming young reserve talent, but two of the finest goals ever seen at Elland Road. Both were scored
by young Scottish international, Eddie Gray, but both were entirely different
in their execution.

After only ten minutes, Gray, wearing the unfamiliar number
six shirt, moved through the centre circle towards the Kop and spotted Burnley
goalkeeper Peter Mellor off his line and produced a stunning chip from forty
yards that floated over Mellorís head and into the net. Burnley
drew level after twenty-five minutes when John Faulkner, the former Sutton
United centre-half, making his debut, deflected a shot past David Harvey.

However, the United youngsters were
not fazed and Gray produced a truly stunning winner on seventy-one minutes. He
was hemmed in on the bye-line to the left of the Burnley
goal, but twisted and turned into the box, where a posse of defenders were left
trailing in his wake by his mesmerising ball skills, before he thundered an
angled shot past Mellor. It was an amazing solo effort and was the main topic
of conversation the following day as fans queued for FA Cup Final tickets
alongside touts from London who
were offering £25 for £4 tickets, but they were worth just a fraction of the
quality of Grayís magnificent goals against Burnley.